500 Ways to Make Things Right
by EmeraldDream1
Summary: Final story in my 500 Ways series. Harry's POV. HG and RHr. Harry's caught in the middle of misunderstandings between Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. And he's trying to figure out how exactly to tell Ginny he fancies her. Written PreHBP
1. Someone More Cheerful

A/N: And now it's time for... (drum roll please)...the last story of my 500 Ways series! I know you've all been waiting for Harry's point of view, so I hope I like it. For those of you that are new to my stories, it would probably make more sense if you read the previous three, but you could always just try this one and see how it goes since it's about the same events as the others ;) I can't wait to hear what all of you think!

* * *

Ron told me once that Ginny never stops talking. I didn't believe him then. She'd been a little girl making a fool of herself over me, of all people, and hardly speaking a word in my presence.

Now I know that he was right. And it's one of the things I love about her. The way she goes on about things for hours and waves her arms intensely when trying to prove a point. The way her eyes flash and her speech sharpens when she's angry. The way her mouth sets firm when she's determined to get her way. And the way she tends to babble when she gets nervous and isn't quite sure what to do.

I love that I know that she does these things. It means I'm paying attention to something, someone, outside of myself and outside of the thoughts of death and horror that plague me. It gives me hope. She gives me hope.

I don't know exactly when I started fancying Ginny. I think it had all started, innocently enough, when we'd become friends my sixth year. We'd stay out on the pitch after Quidditch practice and look at the stars. I'd try to find the one that Sirius was named after and she'd lay down next to me and help. She told me the stories Bill had told her at night about the constellations. Her favorite was the tale of Perseus killing a giant sea monster to save the princess Andromeda. I don't think she realized the parallels. In fact, I didn't even think about it until one day it finally hit me that not only did I save Ginny from a giant serpent as well, but that at the end of the story Perseus and Andromeda fell in love and got married. I was shocked to realize how much I liked that ending.

I avoided Ginny for a week after I realized that I fancied her, until she cornered me in the common room with her wand poised and ready to force me to tell her what was wrong. I lied of course and told Ginny I'd just been having some nightmares and didn't feel like being around anyone at the moment.

Voldemort can be a dead useful excuse. I'd never admit it out loud though or else I'd see some article in the Daily Prophet: Boy-Who-Lived made up Dark Lord in order to get out of awkward situation with girl he fancies. That'd be just brilliant.

Anyway, Ginny hugged me and muttered something about being there if I ever need to talk. I didn't catch the exact wording because I was too busy trying not to touch her hair.

A few months later, I'd almost figured out how to tell her that I fancied her. The only problem was that it seemed more difficult now that I'd gotten to know her so well. No wonder Ron had such problems with Hermione. If I told her straight out, it could be awful if she didn't like me back. I just wish I knew what she felt first. I couldn't exactly ask her. Although we'd become friends, she still bristled when people brought up the crush she used to have on me. I didn't take that as a good sign.

As Ginny ran upstairs to get her books for her History of Magic essay, I started wondering what my plan could be to figure out if Ginny still fancied me at all. Maybe I could use some extendable ears and get Hermione to ask Ginny how she felt about me.

No, that would involve telling Hermione how I feel about Ginny. Hmm.

Ginny looked frazzled as she ran back downstairs. Her ponytail had come undone and her unbuttoned robe was hanging off one shoulder. Ron stopped tapping his foot and glared at Ginny. I shook my head and gave Ginny a sympathetic look. It wasn't her fault that Ron and I were already late meeting Hermione. We should've been there twenty minutes ago and Ginny's dash upstairs had only taken three.

"Let's go," Ron clipped as he was already half out the portrait hole.

"I think the tension with Hermione is getting to him," I whispered apologetically to Ginny as we walked a good ten feet behind Ron. They'd gotten into a fight earlier, and Ron had been unbearable ever since.

Ginny laughed and it made me smile. I loved making her laugh. Her eyes lit up and for a brief second, I completely forgot what I'd said and where we were going.

"So what are the plans for the team this year, Harry?" Ginny said lightly as she started walking a bit faster so we could catch up with Ron. "Mr. Captain." She grinned as if it were an inside joke.

Right. Quidditch. I was the captain of the Quidditch team.

"Well, my star chaser," I nodded at her, "Ron and I have come up with a few new plays that should work pretty well. We'll have to try them out. They're a little tricky." I couldn't wait until Quidditch started up again. I missed flying.

"Oh, I think I can handle tricky, Potter," Ginny said with a smirk. There was something about the way she said it. It was almost -

"Ginny, will you quit it! We have to go meet Hermione at the library and I'm sick of listening to you try and flirt with Harry, leave him alone, will ya? A brother shouldn't be subjected to watching that."-

Flirtatious.

Was Ginny flirting with me?

I looked over at her. She didn't look flirty. She looked furious. She stole a glance at me and then glared back at Ron. Ron, who'd completely messed with our perfectly good conversation. I decided to glare at him too.

"You think it's awful watching me "flirt"," I heard Ginny say from my left while I was glaring at Ron, "well how do you think I feel watching your attempts?"

What was she talking about? I looked over at Ron, but he looked as confused as I did. Ginny seemed to find the need to clarify, because she spoke up again.

"I'm tired of watching you botch it up." She gestured between Ron and the library doors.

Oh. Ron and Hermione.

"But it's okay," Ginny continued with a glint in her eyes that reminded me of Fred and George. "I can fix that."

Ginny smiled at Ron before turning and walking away. I had no doubt that whatever Ginny decided to pull would be worth watching. I still couldn't believe that Ron had accused her of flirting...with me. Had she been?

Did it even matter?

Ginny probably wouldn't talk to me for days now. Like she had to prove she didn't fancy me, even though it was obvious to everyone except Ron. I let out a frustrated sigh and glanced at Ron, who was looking at me hopefully. It was all his fault.

"You shouldn't have said that," I said firmly.

Hoping that I could get to Ginny and fix this somehow before she decided to start ignoring me, I walked the way she'd headed only moments before. It wasn't until I turned the corner and saw her robe drift through the open door that I realized I had to pick up my pace if I wanted to catch up with her.

I'd finally reached her when she tripped and landed hard on the grass. I winced when I saw her wipe tears from her eyes. I hate to deal with crying people. Especially crying girls.

"You know, you're really hard to catch up with."

I was still a little out of breath from running to catch up with her and I didn't know what to do next. Ginny was the one that knew how to deal with people when they were upset. Not me.

She put her face in her hands and I hoped she wasn't crying more.

"Listen," I finally said, "Are you okay? Ron really shouldn't have…said what he said, and well, I wanted to make sure that you were-"

Ginny cut me off. "I'm fine." She looked up and I could see that her face was a bit blotchy and her nose was red, but at least she wasn't crying anymore. She gave a choked sort of laugh and continued. "Humiliation is nothing new in the life of Ginny Weasley. You almost get used to it after a while."

I hated that humiliation was something she'd had to get used to, and I hated that years ago her infatuation with me had probably been part of the problem. Frowning slightly, I pulled Ginny up and held onto her hand a bit longer than I probably should've.

"Still," I said as I quickly dropped her hand, "It wasn't right. I think he's just so caught up in his feelings for-"

Oops. It's so obvious that I keep forgetting that I'm not supposed to tell anyone.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah," I admitted with a laugh. "Ron made me promise not to tell anyone, but seeing as you already know I don't think it's a problem."

"The whole school knows," Ginny said lightly.

"Well, he's just so caught up in trying to hide his feelings from her and trying to tell if she feels the same, that he just isn't thinking straight lately..." I trailed off.

How come I had never realized quite how much I had in common with my best mate?

"He still doesn't need to take it out on me," Ginny said petulantly.

I put my arm around her shoulder in what I hoped was a brotherly sort of fashion and said, "Sorry Ron's a git".

"Thanks Harry," Ginny said as she smiled up at me. "Now I have a plan to get back at him..."

As Ginny started talking, I let my arm drop and tried to look for any reaction on her face. I didn't see any.

I'd never realized that Ron and I were in very similar situations, hiding our feelings and hoping for the best.

Sorry I'm a git too, I added silently as we started to walk back towards the castle.

* * *

"Maybe we can get Victor Krum to come visit!" Ginny exclaimed from the seat beside me. Her eyes lit up. I had to laugh.

"We can't get Viktor Krum to come here, Ginny."

She turned towards me and leaned on the wooden library table with her chin in her hand. "I don't see why not."

"He wouldn't come here, not for some matchmaking plot."

I knew I didn't sound very convincing and I had a very good reason for it. I knew that if Ginny put her mind to it, she was surely persuasive enough to get Krum to come to Hogwarts.

"We could get him a job as a teacher here as a professor and then it would work out perfectly!" Ginny spouted excitedly.

I was praying that Ginny didn't go through with this particular plan. I didn't think Ron could handle it and then I wouldn't be able to handle being in the same room as him.

Ginny took in the look on my face and sighed.

"Okay," she admitted, "It might not be the best idea. You live with him and I wouldn't want to put you through that. But we need some more ideas than getting him to sing in the great hall and having to dance with Hermione in the corridors."

She was deep in thought. We'd been going at it for hours. At brainstorming, I mean. Stupid hormones twisting words around.

"How about we head to the Great Hall and take a break to eat?" I suggested.

"Sure," Ginny replied absently, "I'm famished."

We collected our things and set off towards the Great Hall. I couldn't really believe what I'd gotten myself into, planning revenge on my best mate. And with Ginny, who probably had far more cheerful friends to hang around with than me.

_Choose someone a bit more cheerful next time._

Ron's words from the train after fifth year suddenly came back to me. Ginny was definitely more cheerful than Cho had been. What would she want with someone as sullen as me?

"I've got it!" Ginny exclaimed suddenly as she grabbed my arm and forced me to stop. She paused for a second for dramatic effect and then stretched out the words, "Partner Bind".

"A Partner Bind?"

"Yes, it'll be perfect! You know that they never stand close to each other anymore because they're worried they'll give something away. If we bind them for the entire day, one of them has got to break down."

Ginny bit her lip and started pacing back and forth, mumbling about needing to modify the spell with triggers in case one of the two had to go to the bathroom and I wondered how far she was actually going to go with this plan. Was she going to really go until Ron broke down and was that the best thing? I wouldn't want somebody using magic to force me to tell Ginny how I feel about her. Of course, I didn't like this grey area either. Maybe it would be best to get it over with quickly, like ripping off a band aid. A giant one, around your heart.

I cringed at the mental image and saw that that Ginny was still pacing. I wondered if I could ditch my potions homework for another few hours to hang out with her tonight.

"Now what should we do if that plan doesn't work either? Knowing Ron, we'd need one more, one grand one, to push him over the edge and really expose his feelings for her...hmmm."

"How 'bout you just charm his robes so Hermione sees what he thinks about her? That would get it out in the open," I joked.

Ginny stopped her pacing immediately and turned to face me. I was about to tell her I'd just been joking when she launched herself into my arms and said, "That's the best one yet Harry!" Her breath tickled my ear and I probably held on a bit longer than necessary. I couldn't help it.

Ginny stepped back and cleared her throat.

"Harry, I just wanted to thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it."

Her hands were folded together and she was looking at the ground more than me. I don't know what had happened. Was a thank you that hard to say?

I tried to remember the last time I'd truly thanked anyone. I couldn't. Maybe Mrs. Weasley for letting me stay with them over the summer.

"No problem Ginny. I'd do...I mean, I don't mind."

I'd been about to tell Ginny that I'd do anything for her. I don't think it was something either of us was ready to hear aloud yet.

"Let's get something to eat," I said to break the tension. "If we're working on these spells all night it might take a lot out of us."

Ginny smiled and nodded. Her hand swung by mine briefly as if she was going to grab it, but thought better of that idea at the last minute. I wish she hadn't thought better of it. After those brief moments of contact I'd had with Ginny lately, I found myself missing her touch and noticing the almost touches more and more often.

It was going to drive me slowly insane.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for reading. Please review because I love to hear what you think!

P.S. - Thank you to mt-threat, eckles, cmpbtdudethe, FreckledIrishMaiden, xonlyx3xashesx, eedoe, Mrs. Norris, Withered Quill, JKRobsessed for your reviews on 500 Ways to Lose A Friend. Your compliments are so amazing and I'm really grateful for them.


	2. Obvious

A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing! I loved getting all of your comments. Thanks to Marauder Angel, stephanie, EmeraldHAzel, Withered Quill (glad you like the fast updates, I don't know what's gotten into me lately!), GinnyRoseWeasley, Aqb Dk, Waiting for HBP, sapphire039, Slugabed, Heenie, cho-kaoru88 (no, this is not a one shot, it's a whole series!), Aracalien (thanks for mentioning details in your review and for the amazing compliment), JKRobsessed (glad you don't want to gag!), StaringStars (glad you like the plotting), Artemis Moonsong (glad you like the story and thanks for the compliments...I am curious though, did you read my story from Ginny's POV? because Harry's perception of her is a bit different than what's actually going through her head), eckles (Harry will start having major ethical issues. It's just that he, like Ron, is a bit clouded by his emotions, not to mention that Ron's attack on Ginny has him feeling a bit protective...and Hermione will be "targeted"), and J.Rhaye (Great to hear from you again! As always, I love your detailed reviews and insightful reading of my story)...Wow, that was long! Thanks all!

* * *

Ginny and I ended up spending hours in the library over the next few days. Researching the spells we would need to use on Ron (and his clothing) was a lot more difficult than I'd imagined. I don't think I'd ever voluntarily spent that amount of time in a library in my entire life. It made me admire all of the work that pranksters like Fred and George and my dad and the rest of the Marauders must've put into things.

"This is a lot of work," I sighed. At least I got to spend some time with Ginny though. All of this drudging through ancient texts we'd snuck out of the Restricted Section of the library was worth it.

"Oh Harry," Ginny said as she looked up from her book, "You really don't have to help me. I know how awfully boring this is turning out to be."

I hadn't realized that I'd spoken aloud.

"It's all right," I said quickly before she got the idea that I didn't want to be here with her.

Ginny frowned and looked at me a little suspiciously.

"I suppose we can pack up for now," she said. "I have Charms soon anyway."

I felt slightly disappointed as Ginny began to gather all of her things. Why had I complained? A sudden thought occurred to me.

"Ginny, we're still meeting here again tonight, right?"

Ginny stood up with books in hand and smirked at me. I loved when she had that mischievous look in her eyes. Plus, that slight grin let me know that she was still going to have me help.

"Actually," she started, "I think it would be better if we met in the Room of Requirement from now on."

"Why? What's wrong with the library?"

Ginny laughed and I wondered if I'd missed something.

"Haven't you noticed," she finally said, "How interested Hermione's been in our schedules lately?"

Truthfully, I hadn't. I'd been too busy staring at Ginny most of the bloody time. I had to stop that.

Ginny was waiting for an answer, so I just shrugged.

"Well, she's suspicious of how much time we spend together lately."

I wasn't surprised. Hermione had probably figured out that Ginny was planning on getting back at Ron too. I didn't see what that had to do with me helping Ginny or our working in the library.

"So?" I asked.

"So, our dear Hermione thinks that we are using this as a place to conduct our _indiscretions_." She placed heavy emphasis on the word indiscretions and it made me blush. Was I that obvious?

"So Room of Requirement from now on, all right Harry?"

I nodded and wondered why she was so calm about all of this. After all, it wasn't that much different than what Ron had said, was it? Except that Ron's comment had involved flirting and Hermione's was...well, seemed to be, something more.

I looked up at Ginny and couldn't help but imagine the possibility of doing something more than flirting with her. Kissing her maybe.

"Snogging in the library," Ginny exclaimed as she started to walk away, "imagine that!"

I nearly fell out of my seat.

* * *

"Harry, where are you going?"

I stopped abruptly in the corridor when I heard Hermione's questioning voice. I turned to face her, hoping this wouldn't take long. I'd told Ginny I would meet her in the Room of Requirement after Potions.

"I just have some things to do," I finally said.

Hermione looked at me suspiciously. I wondered where Ron was, thinking that maybe he could distract her somehow, but then I remembered that he'd bolted from the classroom right after Potions ended. I tried to suppress a chuckle at the image of Ron's robes announcing "Snape is a git" in bright pink lettering.

"What sorts of things?" Hermione asked.

"Just, er...things." I'd been about to tell her I was helping Ginny with some research, but then I remembered what she thought Ginny and I were really doing. And that made me think about doing what she thought we were doing.

"Nice blush, Harry." Hermione was grinning at me. "Tell Ginny I said hi."

"I'm not going to see Ginny!" I burst out as she started to walk away. "It's not what you think! Stop laughing!"

I frowned as Hermione threw up a hand in a half-hearted wave and her laughter echoed in the corridor.

"That's just great," I muttered before starting to head down the corridor. Hermione thought that Ginny and I were together and she was wrong. And, unfortunately, I wished she was right.

I tried to push all thoughts of Ginny out of my head as I walked. It was surprisingly difficult. I hadn't realized how much space she had taken up lately in my thoughts. Think of something else, I told myself, think of something else.

It didn't exactly work. I thought about today's prank and ended up thinking about her.

Ginny really was brilliant. And if I hadn't known that she was going to put the charm on Ron's robe, I never would've seen her do it. She'd waited until Ron was turned to talk to Hermione and then she'd slipped her wand from her sleeve and whispered the carefully constructed charm.

The look on Ron's face had been classic. I started laughing again just remembering it.

I saw that the door for the Room of Requirement was already there, which meant Ginny was already inside. Wait 'til I tell her about Potions.

"Oh, you should've seen it Ginny!" I said as I entered the Room. "Ron's face got bright red after he saw the message on his robes and Snape looked ready to kill. Hermione fixed the robes straight away for Ron so no messages about her, but I think that it still worked out rather well anyway. He's about to explode."

"Well, what happened with Snape?"

"Oh, a lecture, twenty points from Gryffindor, and a detention. Nothing he hasn't had before."

"I wish I could've been there," Ginny sighed.

"Yeah," I agreed. I wished that she could've been there too. That's the one problem with Ginny being a year behind us. She's not there when things happen in class. I like it better when I can share a laugh with her when something funny happens.

Ginny seemed all concerned about the detention, but I told her it was nothing to worry about. I couldn't believe she'd never had a detention before. I mentioned that it was very Hermione of her, and she got it into her head that we should give Hermione a detention.

After an hour of planning Hermione's upcoming detention, I was still wondering how Ginny had talked me into this.

"You know," I said as the two of us walked though the portrait hole of Gryffindor Tower, "I never thought I'd be giving Hermione a detention. On purpose that is."

"Just think of it as an early birthday present," Ginny grinned, "It's one of those things that's for her own good. She won't realize it at first and will probably be really mad, but once she and Ron start snogging she won't care."

Ginny's bluntness always took me by surprise.

"You're quite a girl Ginny Weasley."

"Thanks," Ginny said quietly. I could almost swear that she was blushing. "You're not so bad yourself."

We'd stopped at the foot of the stairs. I smiled at what suddenly seemed like the best compliment I'd ever received. Ginny was looking really pretty today. She had her hair up in some haphazard updo and a few strands were threatening to fall in her face. She took a step closer to me and I stopped breathing. Our bodies were almost touching. She put a hand on my shoulder and I gasped and remembered to start breathing again. Ginny and I had never been this close in real life. She leaned closer and for a split second I wondered if she was going to kiss me. Instead she leaned towards my ear and I felt her breath against the side of my face.

"We make quite a team don't we?" she whispered.

I nodded.

"Sweet dreams Harry."

I was in too much of a daze to do anything but stand there and watch Ginny run up the stairs. After a few minutes of standing there like an idiot, I drifted over to the couch and sat down. I was going to have to figure out how to tell Ginny that I liked her. She had been flirting with me again, right?

* * *

A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter! The next one involves Hermione getting a detention. And for those of you that were worried that Harry isn't too concerned about messing with his two best friends, he's simply distracted by his feelings for Ginny and a little slow on the uptake. You'll see! I can't wait to hear from all of you.


	3. The Potions Disaster

A/N: Obviously this is completely AU now, but I hope you still enjoy it. I figured that I can't be the only one clamoring for fanfic now. I hope you all enjoyed reading HBP. I know I was ecstatic with the H/G developments. I hadn't been expecting it nearly so soon.

Thanks to all of you that reviewed: eckles...aka Wayne (hope you like it), kitotterkat (I'm so flattered that these are your favorite HP stories ever! Thanks!), J.Rhaye (I'm glad you enjoyed the moment from Harry's point of view and the romance of all the "almost moments"...as for Ginny's flirting, it definitely is easier for her because she thinks that nothing could happen - if only she knew!), hpgirl7777 (thanks!), Aracalien (it's nice to know that my story's addicting, hope you like the update), cho-kaoru88 (glad you love the series and that the other stories helped you get the context, as for H/G getting together-you won't be disappointed!)

* * *

The next morning Ginny and I staged a conversation in front of the Potions classroom about how Hermione thinks she's better than Snape and other rubbish like that. I rather think we pulled it off too, though I had a difficult time not laughing.

We walked into the Great Hall and I glanced over at Ron, who was looking exceptionally fidgety. Hermione was sitting next to him and they both flinched as they grabbed the same piece of bacon.

"Do you really think this'll work?" I asked. "They're both acting really weird."

"It'll be fine," Ginny said with a wave of her hand. "Trust me," she whispered as we sat down before smiling at Ron.

Ron's eyes went wide and he frantically checked his clothing before sighing and shooting an angry look at his sister.

Breakfast was a rather quiet affair because, well, Ron was suspicious of Ginny and she kept giving him triumphant looks that made him even more paranoid. I also realized that there were only so many superficial things that Hermione and I could say to each other when we spent almost every waking moment together. She didn't want me asking about Ron and I didn't want her asking about Ginny. I couldn't talk to Ron because I'd ended up on Ginny's side for this whole thing and I couldn't talk to Ginny because then Hermione would stare at us. It was the most tiring breakfast I'd ever had and by the end of it I was actually glad to be going to Potions. I never thought that day would come.

* * *

Potions ended up being a bit more distracting than I had anticipated. Snape gave us a really difficult potion to make and Neville and I were having an awful time preparing it. I wished I'd spent a bit more time reading the chapter about Veritaserum last night. I'd done the charm to make sure I wasn't allergic to the ingredients and had skimmed the background information, but I had given up on the rest after my thoughts had kept drifting to Ginny and how close she'd been to me on the stairs last night. I noticed the cauldron bubble ominously as Neville added the lurania and decided that if I failed this or somehow got injured in an accident from making this potion incorrectly, I was going to blame Ginny. She was far too distracting.

I rechecked the directions to make sure that the potion was supposed to be that odd shade of orange and heard a loud crash beside me.

"Ron!" Hermione shouted.

I turned quickly and saw that Ron was on the floor and Hermione was kneeling at his side, whispering something. Neville and I stepped closer and he called for Professor Snape. Ron's face looked so pale. I crouched down beside him and asked Hermione what had happened.

She didn't even notice that I was there as she fearfully touched Ron's face and checked his neck for a pulse. I didn't think I'd ever seen her look so scared.

Neville came over and tried to lift Ron up before Professor Snape stopped him and cast a quick charm that allowed Ron's unconscious body to follow Neville to the hospital wing.

"I'm surprised it took this long for the Weasel to faint dead away," Malfoy said from behind me. "He always was a bit of a wuss."

My hand automatically reached for my wand, but I took one look at Hermione's lost expression and realized that I couldn't fight Malfoy right now when Hermione needed me.

Dean was asking Snape what had happened when I noticed Hermione dart a sharp glance at the blackboard and frown.

"It was the lurania wasn't it?" she whispered. "He had an allergic reaction."

"So Miss Granger has the answer again."

"Why didn't you warn us before we started making the potion?" Hermione asked. I could tell that she was getting close to losing her temper. After all that Ginny and I had indirectly put her through this week, she shouldn't have to deal with Snape's attitude. I shouldn't have agreed to Ginny's plan. How was I supposed to know that Ron was going to end up getting hurt? Hermione wouldn't have been nearly so distraught otherwise.

"It's one of the most highly reactive ingredients used in modern potions," Hermione continued fiercely. "You had to have known that at least one of us would have an allergic reaction."

"And Mr. Weasley should've known to read the chapter I'd assigned," Snape retorted. "Perhaps then he would've been a bit more careful."

Snape really knew how make Hermione angry, I realized as I saw her flushed face and white fisted hands. Snape smirked and I realized that he was enjoying this. This was my fault. All because of some misplaced attempt at matchmaking. I felt horrible.

"Truth be told Miss Granger," Snape continued. "I'm surprised that you didn't warn him yourself. Don't you always do Weasley's homework for him?"

Oh no. I had to stop this. Ginny and I had been going about things all wrong. How could I stop this? What would Hermione do in a situation like this?

I mean, if she weren't about ready to hex a professor.

"Ron does his own work," Hermione hissed. "And it might do for you to notice how hard he works instead of tearing him down every chance you get."

I whispered Hermione's name and tried to pull her back, as she usually does for me and Ron, but unsurprisingly it didn't work. She wrenched her arm out of my grasp and walked towards Snape.

"You should've warned him," Hermione yelled. "You should've warned all of us. What happened to Ron is your fault! You knew how dangerous it was."

I realized absently while I was witnessing my best friend's mental breakdown that the way she yelled at Snape was really quite impressive. I made a note to tell her that later. If she didn't try to kill me next, that is.

"And you are an interfering know-it-all Granger! Detention! Tonight!"

"Fine," Hermione shouted back. "But I'm leaving. I don't want to be in this infernal class any more."

She grabbed her books, hastily shoved her wand in her bag, and stormed out of the classroom. The last time I'd seen her do that was third year with Trelawney. I hoped that this detention worked to Hermione's advantage just like dropping Divination. Ginny and I were just trying to help her and Ron. They'd been unbearable lately.

"Bugger it all," I muttered as I sat back down and started stirring my potion. I'd done it all for Ginny. Messed with my best friends and possibly ruined their lives. And all because she'd looked at me with that teary-eyed smile. What kind of friend was I?

Resolved, I decided that I had to get this thing with Ginny figured out one way or another. I couldn't keep agreeing to things just because she looked sad or pretty. I'd been friends with Ron and Hermione longer.

Needless to say, I was glad when Potions was over. Neville hadn't gotten back until a few minutes before class ended, so I'd had way too much time alone with my thoughts. I was really glad when I saw Hermione up ahead of me. I needed to see how she was feeling after her outburst in class. Maybe I could cheer her up?

"Hermione!" I yelled. She turned around and sighed heavily as if she didn't want to talk to me right now, but she had stopped, so I ran to catch up.

When I finally did catch up, she was less than pleasant.

"What?" she said shortly.

I decided that perhaps looking at the positive side of things might be a better approach than asking how she was feeling. Maybe if I gave her a compliment.

"I can't believe you did that!" I said finally. "I never would've thought that you'd yell at Snape. It was..." I searched for an appropriate word. "...amazing." I forced a smile and tried to look proud. I'm a horrible actor, but she must not have noticed.

"Yeah, brilliant," she said darkly. "I've got a detention that I shouldn't have and Ron's lying in the hospital wing."

As we entered the common room, I couldn't help but feel that perhaps I would've been better off with trying to comfort Hermione instead of cheer her up.

Hermione was still ranting about the detention when I saw Ginny sitting at a close table. She raised her eyebrows in question and I rolled my eyes and shook my head. How to you explain from across the room that everything is working just as planned, but still ending up as a disaster?

I barely noticed when Hermione nearly slammed her books on Ginny's fingers and only half-listened to their ensuing conversation. When Hermione left, I pulled a chair up next to Ginny.

"I assume it worked then?" she said from my right.

I guess that would depend on what you meant by worked. I suppose that since giving Hermione a detention had been our goal all along...

"Better than expected," I answered. I didn't know how to explain exactly what had been off about everything. If only she could've seen it herself and then I wouldn't have to explain anything.

"You should've been there Ginny. It was fascinatingly...horrible. Snape and Hermione got into a yelling match in the middle of class."

If I hadn't been feeling so guilty and confused about everything lately, I probably would've enjoyed the Potions disaster. As it stood, however...

"Tell me the details. I bet Ron was surprised, seeing as how Hermione is always holding him back from stuff like this."

I hadn't even gone to see Ron yet and make sure he's all right. I am a horrible friend.

"Ron would've been surprised, if he'd been there."

"He wasn't there? Wait, where is he now? What happened?"

Ginny looked shocked. I launched into an explanation of what had happened during Potions today.

"Wow," Ginny said after I'd finished. "So Ron doesn't know that Hermione has detention with him tonight?"

"No. And," I added, "I don't know if she's going to tell him. She's acting really weird about the whole thing. She might try and talk her way out of it."

Maybe if Hermione talked to McGonagall, she could get out of detention and then I wouldn't feel so responsible about the whole thing. Hermione had looked so upset.

"It won't work," Ginny said, dashing my hopes. "Hey, Ron's coming back before tonight right?"

Truthfully, I wasn't sure. I hoped so, or else I'd have one more thing to worry about.

"Yeah," I said anyway, "he should be back after dinner. Their detention isn't until ten."

Ginny smiled at me and looked just so confident and happy that everything would work out. I envied that. Maybe I should try to have her faith that everything was going to work out. Ginny Weasley was an easy person to believe in.

"We should drop a hint about their feelings for each other," I found myself suggesting, "and then they'll have to talk about it later when they're alone."

"Okay, Harry, that could work."

Ginny said she was going to get Hermione in a better mood and I wished her luck. I silently wished that I would have some luck too, or else fancying Ginny Weasley was going to kill me before Voldemort even had a chance.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all liked it. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Coming up next will be Harry's visit to the hospital wing and the fight at dinner :) 


	4. The Sympathy Card vs Ginny Weasley

A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed, I really appreciate! I love how so many of you went into the details that you liked best. That's the sort of thing that helps my writing the most. This chapter's a bit shorter, but the next one will more than make up for that.

Georgentosser - Thanks a lot for your review. It's nice to know that I'm writing a teenage boy well, considering I've not had the experience of being one ;)

hpgirl7777 - I am enjoying the fanfic "baby boom". I think it'll get a bit more interesting once sites start allowing new fics and I don't have to wade through for the good ones. Hope you like the update!

eckles - I'm glad that you like how Harry is second guessing everything. I completely agree that things will happen if it's meant to be. Unfortunately for Harry, Ginny is really "persuasive".

kitotterkat - I'm so happy that my update brightened your day. I hope this one does too. It sounds like you get exactly what I was going for with these stories, showing how the same thing can be different from other people's POV. I'm flattered that you think my writing is so in character, that's what I shoot for.

Frecklednproud - Glad you like it, thanks!

JKRobsessed - Haha, thanks for saying this fic is too good to be wasted. That made me smile

J.Rhaye - Spot on with your review as usual. I'm glad you liked how I portrayed Harry's inner conflict. It's a bit more challenging to write "stuck in the middle" situations. Thanks for the compliments.

cho-kaoru88 - Haha, glad you liked the similarities between my Harry and HBP Harry. It worked out rather nicely considering I wrote the last chapter before HBP even came out. I definitely think that there's going to be more H/G in book 7. We all know that Ginny will fight for what she wants.

* * *

_The Sympathy Card vs. Ginny Weasley_

I paced outside of the door to the hospital wing for about 10 minutes before I got up enough courage to go in. It looked surprisingly empty and for once I didn't see Madame Pomfrey bustling about. It suddenly occurred to me that I was rarely on this end of things when it came to visits to the infirmary. I was usually the one laying in bed unconscious.

I headed towards the line of beds and spotted Ron at the far end. He wasn't moving and his eyes were closed. Madame Pomfrey had probably given him a sleeping draught, I reasoned as I sat in the chair beside his bed. Maybe the allergy had been worse than I thought. That's why Hermione had still been in a state after potions. She'd probably visited Ron and...

"Are you gonna keep staring at me, or actually say something?"

I heard Ron's scratchy voice and realized that his eyes were opened and looking straight at me. I let out a sigh of relief.

"I should've known you weren't asleep when I didn't hear any snoring."

Ron let out a slight chuckle.

"You're lucky I'm stuck in bed right now Potter, or I'd get you back for that."

I smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

Ron leaned back against the headboard of the bed.

"Like I got hit by a few too many bludgers."

"Glad you're okay," I replied. Ron nodded.

"How'd the rest of Potions turn out?" he asked. "If I had to miss the last half hour of any class, I'm glad it was that one. Bad enough that I have to spend tonight with that git."

I cringed at the thought.

"Well, Hermione was in a right state," I finally said.

"Really?" Ron said with a wistful smile.

"You really care about her, don't you?" I asked.

Did I have a goofy smile like that when I thought about Ginny? I hoped not. Especially since I had as much of a chance with her as a house elf. She got over me ages ago and now we're just friends. Just friends. She jokes around with her other guy friends too. Teases them and maybe even flirts with them. I didn't want to examine why the feeling made me sick to my stomach.

Ron nodded in response to my question and put his hands behind his head.

He was lucky. It wasn't as if Hermione really had any other guy friends. Her penpal relationship with Viktor Krum didn't count. Ron didn't have any competition. Plus, Hermione loves him back.

I was jealous of them and they weren't even together yet. How sad is that?

I hadn't realized that the both of us had been silent for several minutes until Ron spoke up again.

"Hey Harry, get Ginny to lighten up, will you?"

"Huh?"

Ron yawned and laid back down.

"Just tell her to give me a break for a while. Be on my side. I don't know why she's this hacked off, but I'm really tired. Pull the sympathy card if you have to. Flirt with her or something, I don't care. I haven't been able to get any sleep lately..."

And with that, Ron closed his eyes and started snoring.

* * *

I don't know what Ginny said to Hermione, but she definitely seemed to be in a better mood as we entered the Great Hall for supper, although she did keep tossing worried glances in Ron's direction. That was to be expected though, I guess. Ron still did look rather pale. I wondered if he'd argued to get out of hospital early. It's what I would've done. I hate that place.

"Harry," Ginny whispered in my ear, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I said.

Ginny looked at me with a frown and I remembered that saying I was fine was probably as good as admitting that I'm brooding.

"I really am, I swear," I whispered. "I'm just a little worried about Ron, is all. He looks like he's going to faint."

"It'll be fine," Ginny whispered back as she touched my shoulder.

Before I could become too aware of Ginny's closeness, I noticed Hermione staring at us blatantly from across the table before turning to give Ron a frustrated look. He didn't notice, of course. He was too busy...not eating?

"So Harry," Ginny said cheerfully beside me, "Did you notice Hermione's rather good temperament for someone who's got a detention tonight?"

She grinned.

"Actually, I was going to ask about that. I'm rather impressed. What'd you say?"

"'Fraid I can't give away trade secrets, Harry," she teased. "Though it might've had something to do with the wonderful pep talk I gave her and the fact that I called her my future sister-in-law."

"I bet she loved that," I said, not quite believing that Ginny'd had the nerve to say it. Then again, Ginny's always been more outspoken then I would ever be.

"Actually, I think she hated it, but that's neither here nor there." Ginny waved the concern away with a flick of her wrist. "Now, tonight should hopefully be the end of a week of hard work."

I gave Ginny a warning glance when her volume started to rise and nodded in Ron's direction. She glared at me, but continued on in a whisper, leaning closer to me so that I could hear.

"And for all of that hard work, I believe that we should have a little celebration. What do you think Harry?"

I flushed. She couldn't know that she sounded seductive. It wasn't her fault that my mind had been running to the idea of kissing her more and more frequently these days. She'd probably just meant sneaking to the kitchens or something.

I cleared my throat.

"Sounds, er, sounds good."

I turned away from Ginny so that she wouldn't see me blush and unfortunately I looked over at Ron. He was frowning at Ginny and I. He'd wanted me to get Ginny to lighten up.

He'd said I should flirt with her.

"I swear," I heard Ron mutter, "Mum and dad should've stopped after me."

Ron had told me to flirt with Ginny.

I heard Ginny laugh and turned to look at her. Ginny's brown eyes were bright and her hands were firmly on the table. She looked amazing when she was fired up.

"Should've stopped after you Ron?" Ginny said, "And how would that've helped anyone? More like they should've skipped you. Probably would have if it were possible."

Hermione cast me a nervous look and I shrugged. I didn't know what to do. Hermione put her hand on Ron's arm and spoke up.

"Now, Ginny -"

"What, Hermione?" Ginny spit out. "Still defending this thick lout after all this time? I would've thought you of all people would've been at your wit's end -"

Ron shot up and I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Ginny was going a bit too far.

"Leave Hermione out of this! She has nothing to do with it."

"You're right," Ginny said as she stood up too. "If you're having an awful week it's your own fault and you deserve it." She smiled sweetly and I hoped, not for the first time, that I never got on Ginny Weasley's bad side. "Are you looking forward to your detention, dear brother?"

"You planned that too, didn't you?" Ron yelled as he leaned across the table. "I'm gonna owl mum!"

"Oh," Ginny responded as she leaned toward Ron, "That's big of you! Maybe I should owl mum and tell her why I did what I did?"

Ron gasped and I cringed. I really didn't want the entire school knowing what was going on.

"Ginny!" I hissed. "Not now."

I pulled on Ginny's arm and she sat down with a huff. I nodded at Hermione to do the same with Ron. Not that it did much good, of course. Ginny and Ron spent the entire meal glaring at each other and Hermione and I stumbled through a boring conversation about NEWTs.

* * *

A/N: I hope that all of you liked it! And if you'd like to read another new fic of mine, I just wrote a little oneshot between George Weasley and the girl from the paper shop called Almost Like Magic (you can get to it from my profile). It's the first time I've written a fic that's not H/G or R/Hr centric, so I'd love to get people's opinions on it. And, if anyone would like me to e-mail them when I update my stories, send my your e-mail, and I'll make sure I do. Thanks!


	5. A Hundred Steps Back

A/N: Next chapter is finally here! And a big thanks for jeflin3 who took the time to e-mail me and ask me too update. Apparently it was just the sort of encouragement I needed. I hope all of you like this chapter. It's a lot longer than the last one, and although we've gone through these events before, I'd like to think that Harry's POV adds a whole new dimension. I hope you enjoy!

HAM005 - Your review made me laugh, and yes I supposed it would be tough.

AshEllie - Thanks! I'm glad you find my story addicting and sorry for the update wait!

cho-kaoru88 - Thanks for being honest. I was buying a bit of time with the last chapter, but hopefully you'll find this one to be an improvement. It's a bit too angsty now for a good ol awkward moment like the one you described, but I have something planned for the end that I think you'll enjoy.

Dragon of the lost world - Thanks for your review! I'm glad you liked the pensiveness (you'll get a lot more in this chapter) and how I started the first chapter. Hope to hear more from you. :)

SnowflakeGinny - I'm so glad that you like my fics and that the entire series is on your favs. I feel honored. Hope you like this next chapter. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

Aracalien - I love when people tell me I'm writing in-character, so thanks a lot! P.S. Thanks for reviewing Almost Like Magic too. :)

kitotterkat - Thanks a lot. It's always great getting your reviews and thanks for reviewing my other story too.

eckles (aka Wayne) - Harry, as I'm sure you'll notice in this chapter, has realized that things have spun out of control. Ron is placing a lot of trust in Harry, but Ginny is also counting on him. It puts him in quite a bind and I hope you like the way I handle all of that conflict and strain in this chapter.

HermyRonGrl7 - For "not H/G or R/Hr centric", I meant that for my other story Almost Like Magic that revolves around George. I'm glad that you like my writing style (I agree that it can be difficult to find good stories on so I'm glad you think mine is one of them). I'm also fond of the sister-in-law comment that Ginny made, so I'm glad you liked it.

JKRobsessed - Sorry it wasn't exactly soon, but here's your update!

frecklednproud - Aw, saying that my characters are "so canon" warms my heart. You're great.

* * *

_A Hundred Steps Back_

* * *

Ginny let out another angry huff beside me and I dared a glance at her. She was leaning against the back of the couch with her arms crossed and glaring at Ron. She hadn't stopped glaring at him since dinner. I didn't know how to deal with it.

"So..." I tried, trailing off when Ginny didn't even acknowledge that I was speaking.

"Bloody prat," Ginny muttered under breath.

"Ginny," I whispered, eager to get this entire nightmare over with, "We have to figure out what we are going to say."

"How about this: Screw you Ron, you're a bloody idiot and I don't know what Hermione sees in you."

Ginny looked like she actually might say that and I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined Ron's reaction. After I laughed, Ginny smiled in that cute, "I still want to be angry sort of way".

I leaned towards her.

"How about something a little more subtle," I suggested, hoping to get Ginny to laugh, "like hinting about the virtues of snogging in a deserted Potions classroom."

"Harry!" she shouted before starting to laugh.

Ginny's laugh was light and beautiful. I wished I could always make her laugh. She deserved to spend life laughing. Her laughter stopped and I noticed that she was smiling faintly in the direction of the portrait hole. I squinted to see if there was something over there that I'd missed. Stupid glasses.

"Wait!"

I jerked my head back, wondering what Ginny was so frantic about.

"You can't!"

"Why not Weasley?" I joked, wondering what had gotten her so worked up.

She laid her hand on my shoulder as if to stop me from saying something that I'd only been joking about in the first place. Ron was right, Ginny did need to lighten up. She was starting to get paranoid just like her brother.

"Harry! They'll think." She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her long red hair. I wished I could touch it. It looked so soft.

"They'll think that we know about the virtues of snogging in a deserted Potions classroom!"

That didn't sound so bad, the two of us snogging. I leaned a little bit closer to Ginny.

"So?" I asked.

Maybe now's the time. I should ask her how she feels about me. Or maybe tell her how I feel. Ron said that I could flirt with Ginny. He gave me permission. Talking about feelings could fall in the same category, right?

I can't believe I'm actually considering going through with this.

"Ginny," I say softly.

She leans closer and I think I see her eyes drift down to my lips. I'd wanted to talk to her, but at the moment kissing her seems like a much better idea.

"Um...yeah," she says coldly as she backs away. "That won't work."

I leaned back against the couch and let the mortification settle over me. At least I'd gotten my answer. Ginny admitted that she would never want to kiss me. She hadn't said the words, but it was in her tone and the way she'd jumped away when he'd been about to kiss her.

What had I been thinking anyway? Ron was right across the room.

"Ginny, what's the plan?" I said when I'd finally gathered up my wits, or what was left of them. I wanted to get away from Ginny Weasley as soon as possible.

She seemed to want to get away from me as well. Her tone was frustrated when she answered.

"I'm sick of this. I'm just gonna say 'Ron, you like Hermione and Hermione, you like Ron. Deal with it.'"

At this point, I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to leave.

We packed up our things for the library without saying a word to each other. I was really regretting having agreed to wait with Ginny in the library after this final attempt at matchmaking. I was starting to wonder why she was so invested in getting Ron and Hermione's relationship to work.

We walked over to the couch where Ron and Hermione were sitting and stopped in front of it. Ginny was trying to get back at Ron, I reviewed. As much as the two of us wanted to see Ron and Hermione together, this was about Ginny's revenge. It was about Ron insinuating that Ginny fancied me when she didn't.

It was a sibling thing, I thought as I looked between Ron and Ginny, and somehow Hermione and I had gotten dragged into it. Or rather, I had volunteered and Hermione had gotten dragged into it.

"Ron," Ginny started, putting the final part of her plan into effect, "I -"

I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She looked at me with wide, questioning eyes.

"I don't think you should say anything about Hermione's feelings for him. She shouldn't be a part of this feud between you and Ron."

She nodded and I felt relieved. Then, spitefully I guess, I told Ginny to throw Ron off a bit first. I wanted to, for just a moment longer, not be the only miserable one. I didn't want to be the only one whose feelings were unrequited.

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'll make it good."

Ginny squeezed my arm. It was a reminder that she didn't like me and I felt slightly queasy.

"Ron," Ginny said solemnly, "I just wanted to say that we shouldn't fight anymore. I'm sorry."

"Very magnanimous of you Gin."

Did Ron just use the word magnanimous?

"We're going to the library," Ginny said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me with her toward the portrait hole. The pressure of her fingers burned. We took three steps and she dropped her hand and turned back toward the couch.

"Oh and Hermione?" Ginny said.

"Yes?" Hermione replied, completely unaware of what Ginny was going to do.

"Ron fancies you."

Ginny smiled at the two of them and turned to leave, probably congratulating herself on a job well done. I looked at Hermione's wide, horrified eyes and felt sick to my stomach. She certainly didn't look happy. She looked like her world was collapsing. I knew that she fancied Ron, so something else had to be the problem. Had Ginny's words not sunk in?

In a flash, so quick that I might have missed it, Hermione's eyes cleared and she looked hopeful. Then Ron made a strangled noise and she shook her head sadly and her eyes started to shine with unwept tears. I gave Hermione the most optimistic smile that I could under the circumstances before following Ginny. I don't even know if Hermione saw the look I'd given her, but I hoped that this mess would work it out and that Ron and Hermione wouldn't screw it up with their whole "one steps forward, two steps back" method of romance. I just wanted my friends back. I wanted them to be happy.

The look in Hermione's eyes haunted me as I walked silently beside Ginny to the library. I was glad, for only about the second time in my life, that Ginny wasn't talking. I wanted to brood and I didn't want her to ruin it, especially as she was partially the cause.

When we sat down at one of the wooden library tables, I laid out my books with precision, trying to focus on anything other than my guilt and my self-pity. Once that was done, I grabbed my Transfiguration book and started to read. The chapter I was supposed to read was boring and I had to focus really hard to keep from looking at Ginny. The sad part about having feelings for someone is that they don't stop the moment you realize they aren't returned.

I turned a page without having read anything. Best at least look like I'm revising. Letting my finger trail down the text, I wondered how soon I could leave without Ginny getting suspicious. Earlier I'd promised we'd make a night of it.

I flushed as I remembered the light in her eyes when she'd said we needed to celebrate and what I'd initially thought. I'd thought that maybe she might've meant something more. I was an idiot. An idiot who was stuck in his own personal hell.

I stole a glance at Ginny. She seemed deep in thought.

There wouldn't be any celebration tonight, of either meaning. Ginny obviously didn't fancy me and from the look in Hermione's eyes, I doubted anything would be resolved between her and Ron tonight. I pushed my hair back from my face let out a frustrated sigh. About the only way things could get worse is if Snape, Voldemort, and Malfoy all decided to pop into the library.

I realized I'd been thinking about it a moment too long when having my three worst enemies show up started sounding like a good idea because then I would no longer have to think about Ginny rejecting me. Or fancying someone else, which come to think about it she probably did.

"Harry!"

Ginny's voice cut right through my negative thoughts. I'd almost forgotten she was sitting right beside me.

"What?" I asked.

"Umm..." She bit on her lip. I hated that I still loved when she did that. "Do you think it'll work out?"

No, I wanted to respond immediately. You love somebody else and I'm going to die and my best friends are in a horrible mess because of me. She wasn't asking about me though. She was asking about Ron and Hermione. I should've known she didn't care when she was always cringing when people suggested she fancied me.

"Oh, with Ron and Hermione?" I responded finally. "Yeah, I think so."

Or at least I hoped so. It would stop a bit of this horrible feeling gathering in my stomach.

Ginny frowned at my answer and I wondered if she was starting to feel as guilty as I was about messing with Ron and Hermione's love life. She stared down at the wooden table and bit her lip again. She looked so sad.

"Ginny, are you okay?"

She shook her head no even as she said, "I'm okay Harry, it's just..." She sighed and looked in my eyes. I was met with a flat and resigned brown that no longer sparkled. Ginny was usually strong. The troubled acceptance in her expression scared me.

"I'm sorry for being a silly, stupid little girl," she finished.

"What? Ginny what are you talking about?"

I'd heard that before, I was sure I had. Or at least something quite similar. The way that Ginny had said that about herself gave me the creeps. She wasn't the least bit stupid and she wasn't really silly that often. As a sixth year she certainly wasn't a little girl any more.

I heard a loud bang and jumped as Hermione came through the library doors and headed straight to our table.

"What the hell is your problem Ginny!"

"What?" Ginny replied, looking like a confused first year.

Hermione and Ginny kept yelling back and forth, but I ignored it for the most part. There was something that I was missing, some reason why Ginny's comment seemed so important and left me with a chill.

"He doesn't love me," Hermione said harshly to Ginny, and I lost my train of thought. "And because of you I'm not even sure if he's going to be my friend anymore. You just ruined my life."

"Hermione," I started, not really knowing what I was going to say next.

"Harry, shut it."

"Hermione," Ginny pleaded.

"Ginny, I thought you were my friend. Don't ever speak to me again."

Hermione left the library as swiftly as she'd come. I saw her angrily brush away tears with her left hand before pushing the door open with her right. It seemed as if my best friends had taken a hundred steps back instead of just two.

I heard a thud beside me and saw that Ginny had just banged her head on the table. Her hands were shaking a bit.

"Ginny? Are you okay?"

I was worried about her. It was like she was falling apart in front of me. The last time I'd seen her remotely like this was after the Chamber.

"I'm sure Hermione didn't mean what she said Ginny," I tried to reassure her. "She and Ron probably got into a fight because they didn't know how to deal with their feelings for each other."

"Why can't people just admit how they feel," Ginny muttered from behind her crossed arms before lifting her head, "and live happily ever after?"

I couldn't do it. I couldn't sit here and talk to Ginny Weasley about happily ever afters. I couldn't tell her that happy endings existed. My parents didn't have a happy ending. Sirius didn't. And it was entirely likely that I wouldn't have one.

Ginny was expecting an answer.

"Erm...I don't know," I said, "Look, Ginny, I have to go...er, do something. I'll talk to you later."

I grabbed my books and practically ran out the door. All that stuff she'd said about happily ever after though, I knew it wasn't in the cards for me. One of these days I wasn't gonna be able to scrape by against Voldemort. I wasn't strong enough to kill him, at least not yet.

I headed toward the Quidditch pitch. I always went there to clear my thoughts. So much had been happening lately and I didn't quite know how to handle it. Ginny Weasley had stolen my heart and then dropped it. Ron and Hermione had somehow gotten into a huge misunderstanding over their feelings for each other. I couldn't help thinking that this whole being in love business wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. And if this, as Dumbledore had kept trying to tell me, was somehow going to defeat Voldemort...well, it certainly seemed really temperamental and unstable.

The cold, damp weather matched my horrible mood. I was glad the weather was miserable. The clingy, wet chill reminded me of the Chamber of Secrets. It was just as silent outside as it had been in there too. A perfect place to feel perfectly horrible.

And then it clicked. I knew why Ginny's comment about herself back in the library had jarred me so much. I'd heard only one person say something like that about Ginny before, and that person had been Tom Riddle. How could she think those same things?

It made me want to throw up.

I stopped walking. Things had gotten too far out of control. I sat down on the wet grass and hung my head down. Things had gone horribly wrong and I'd been able to tell that something was up with Ginny, but I left anyway. I was selfish.

I'd just left her there. After Hermione had yelled at her and after she'd said those things about herself that had reminded me horribly of something Tom Riddle had said about her down in the Chamber of Secrets. I didn't even deserve to be Ginny Weasley's friend, much less anything more.

"I have to fix things," I determined.

The whispered sentiment sounded stronger than I felt. Maybe the truth behind it gave it more weight. I knew what I had to do, as surely as I knew that one day I would again have to face Voldemort.

I had to fix things between Ron and Hermione and then I had to prove that I could really be Ginny's friend and be there for her. I had to make things right. Now I just had to sift through 500 possible solutions and choose the right one this time. I wished for luck.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter is completely new territory (well almost), aren't you excited! Please leave a review, I'd love to read it! 


	6. A Load of Dragon Dung

A/N: First off, I'd like to say thank you for everyone that is still with this story and sorry for the long wait between chapters. I've been juggling two jobs and being a full time student and it didn't leave much time for writing. I hope you find that the wait for this chapter was worth it though. And after this, there's only one more chapter to go! As always, enjoy and I can't wait to hear what you thought. Also, a special thanks to Dragon of the Lost World and jkg-vader for e-mailing me for special encouragement to get the next chapter out in spite of how crazy my life is at the moment. You're wonderful!

Thanks to EowynSaule, jkg-vader, godessa39 (that would be funny, but don't worry even without a special room Harry will get some snogging), bamse (glad you like it!), Crookshanksforever (thanks for the great review and I do promise that I will be writing more stories once this series is over), HarryPotterFan05, Dragon of the Lost World, harrypotterfan77, Offending Shadow (glad you liked the Riddle thing and Ginny's comment about snogging in the library...I love to hear which bits are liked the best), Baby-Atemu, CreativeQuill (thanks for the positive review and don't worry, I'm not abandoning this story...simply slow in updating it), paige2310, J.Rhaye (as always, thanks for your wonderful and insightful review), OliviaD, Aracalien (hope you like the "new territory"), Gabs (snogging is up and coming), Anony, HAM005, Withered Quill (sorry for the long wait. thanks for the fabulous review of course and i think you'll be happy to see what Harry and Ginny get up to), Oliphaunts aren't Elephants, Silver Weasley (thanks for the wonderful review), AshEllie (it's gonna be one more chapter after this one), Snowflake Ginny (glad you love that line, it's one of my favs too...and thanks for the review), cho-kaoru88 (I'm glad you liked ch 5 better :) ), kitotterkat (thanks for the review and it's so sweet that you say you're going to miss my stories when they're done...I'm glad I can provide so much entertainment and enjoyment)

* * *

A Load of Dragon Dung

I ran to the library, but when I got there, the table where Ginny and I had been sitting was completely empty. I saw a first year packing up his books nearby. I couldn't remember his name, but I knew he was a Gryffindor.

"Hey you!"

The kid turned around, startled.

"Do you know where Ginny Weasley went?"

He still looked surprised that I was talking to him, and a little nervous, but answered anyway.

"I dunno. She looked upset though."

I should have been expecting that, but it wasn't at all what I wanted to hear. I muttered a quick thanks to the firsty, and rushed out of the library. I stopped once I reached the corridor. I didn't know where to look. I tried to think. Where would Ginny go? It seemed like she had always just been there. I'd never had to go searching for her before.

Lacking another idea, I headed back to Gryffindor tower. Ginny wasn't in the common room and neither were Ron and Hermione. They'd probably gone on to detention already, but I had to check the dormitory. Maybe Ron hadn't left yet. I could at least talk some sense into him before finding Ginny.

"Hey Harry!" Dean said as I threw open the door and looked around. "In a hurry?"

"Have you seen Ron?"

Dean shook his head.

"Hermione?"

He shook his head again and went back to writing something on a piece of parchment.

"Ginny?" I asked a bit desperately as I grabbed onto the corner post of my bed and sat down.

"Dunno." Dean replied without looking up. "Have you done this essay for Snape yet? I can't find the list of ingredients for Befuddlement draughts. I know we've gone over it before."

I felt like I'd taken a Befuddlement draught. Everyone was missing and I was feeling distinctly unsettled. Why didn't I know where Ginny had gone? I should know these things.

"Harry?"

Dean was staring at me, waiting for an answer. I'd completely forgotten what he'd asked.

"I don't know," I mumbled. "I have to go, er, do something."

I grabbed my invisibility cloak (it was close to curfew) and went out the door. It wasn't until I was back in the corridor outside of the Gryffindor tower that I realized I had absolutely no idea where to go and no plan. This wasn't a good start.

I started wandering around the castle and asking random people if they'd seen Ginny. At first, people seemed really helpful. As it got closer to curfew they started looking annoyed. A few girls seemed to think it was sweet that I was looking for Ginny and started to try and get me talking about when I'd asked her out. I told them I wasn't aware I had. Then they just looked at me like I was pathetic.

They're probably right. I have been feeling rather pathetic lately.

The corridor torches dimmed and I realized that it must be curfew. I tossed the invisibility cloak over my shoulders and glanced around. The corridors were completely empty and I still hadn't found Ginny.

Maybe I should fix things with Ron and Hermione first. At least I knew where they were.

* * *

I entered the dungeon and saw Ron and Hermione standing in front of a sink full of disgusting cauldrons. I cringed, glad that I didn't have this detention. Double-checking to make sure that my invisibility cloak was covering me fully, I shut the door and walked inside.

"Take the gloves," I heard Hermione say, "I'm not allergic."

I walked closer until I was standing right beside the two of them. I still didn't have any plan, but things didn't look too horrible. They were talking to each other at least. How bad could it be?

They both went to grab the same cauldron and then simultaneously dropped it as soon as their hands touched.

"Hermione, about earlier, when Ginny said...er, what she said..."

Hermione ignored him and picked the cauldron and started scrubbing.

"I don't want you to feel that..." Ron continued awkwardly, "I mean, I don't want us to not be friends."

He couldn't have possibly...did Ron tell Hermione that he didn't fancy her? I saw Hermione glare at the cauldron with her jaw clenched. Ron, please say you didn't.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said briskly. "We both know that Ginny didn't mean what she said. You don't fancy me, you fancy Lavender and I don't fancy you."

Somehow, unfortunately, this was exactly what I'd expected to happen ever since that bloody day when Ron had lied to Hermione about fancying Lavender. He'd made me go along with it too. Bloody coward.

"I know you don't," Ron said angrily, "and what _about _Lavender?"

He started scrubbing a cauldron and Hermione exploded.

"That you fancy the superficial slag, you prat!"

I'd been through enough Ron and Hermione arguments to predict what would happen next. They'd go back and forth, continually raising their voices until Ron brought up Krum. That was usually when Hermione stormed out of the room.

The reason I was standing here guessing what was going to happen next was that I still didn't have any plan. None at all. It came to my attention that normally Hermione and Ginny came up with the plans. Not that that fact helped me any.

I was waiting for Ron's comeback when I realized that Ron was smiling.

"Hermione," Ron said slowly. "How can someone as smart as you be so incredibly daft?"

Perhaps this was a new strategy to get Hermione mad - insulting her intelligence.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

It definitely seemed to be working...and then Ron laughed and made it worse.

"What in the world would make you think that I fancy Lavender?"

Hermione dropped the cauldron she was cleaning.

"Because you said so!"

Ron started to laugh again and I wondered if he had a death wish.

"Since when do you listen to me?"

Hermione looked flustered and angry. She crossed her arms across her chest. I wondered when and if I should step in. This new turn that their argument had taken threw me for a loop.

"Why are you being so cheerful anyway?" she said. "We're supposed to be in the middle of a fight."

"Because I thought I didn't have a chance before," Ron grinned. "You know, until you started acting like me."

"I don't act anything like you."

"Oh yes you do," he said confidently. "You're acting about Lavender the way that I did about Vicky."

"His name is Viktor," Hermione snapped. "And I'm not acting any particular way about Lavender."

Now they're back on track. Their arguments always do come back to Viktor Krum. This is the part where I usually leave the room or hide behind a textbook.

"Yes you are," Ron said cheerfully. "And I know why, because I know why _I_ acted the way _I_ did."

"Oh really then. Why _were _you a complete and utter jerk?"

I was trying to get up the courage to pull off my cloak and put an end to this mess, or at least focus the attention on me, when Ron surprised me again.

"You're jealous," he told her, albeit a bit unsteadily.

"I am not!" she shouted.

Bloody hell, I thought as Ron confidently took a step closer to Hermione, maybe he finally got it after all this time. Maybe I wouldn't have to do anything and they'd fix this mess on their own. I sighed with relief. After all, I hadn't been looking forward to taking the brunt of their anger.

"Then why do you care?" Ron said as Hermione took a step backward and bumped into the counter. "Why'd you yell at Snape and get a detention all because of me?"

I knew that look on Hermione. I didn't see it often, but I knew what it meant. She was going to run. I didn't know why, but I knew that somehow I had to stop her. I was sick of all of the sodding tip-toeing I always had to do around the two of them because they hadn't admitted how they felt about each other. I was sick of people put in the middle. If the two of them had just been honest with each other, I wouldn't have gotten involved in Ginny's mess of a plan. I noticed that Hermione's hand was inches away from one of the cauldrons and I recognized the potion that was in it. She'd said she wasn't allergic, right?

"Because well...er..."

As Hermione stumbled for words, I got out my wand and hoped that I was doing the right thing this time. Ron and Hermione just needed a bit of honesty and if I could help them with that, so be it. I muttered a levitation spell and moved the cauldron until a drop of potion on its edge touched Hermione's skin.

"Because I love you," she said before clapping a hand over her mouth.

That had been a little more to the point than I'd been expecting, but as long as it worked...

"Really?" Ron asked before pulling Hermione into a hug.

I saw him touch her hair and decided that I'd best leave before I witnessed any snogging. It's not something I'd really want to see close up like that.

* * *

I really was glad for them, Idecided I as made my way down to the Quidditch pitch. I was jealous of them, but I was glad. The thought popped into my head that Ginny would be excited that Hermione and her brother were together. If I knew where to find her, I'd go tell her. If she would speak to me of course.

I spent the rest of the walk to the pitch feeling sorry for myself. Eventually I decided that if I was going to be feeling sorry for myself, I should at least apologize to Ginny first. The whole honesty thing worked for Ron and Hermione, maybe it would work for me. I could still be her friend if I explained...well, I probably wouldn't actually explain that I'd left in her moment of need because I'd been upset she didn't want to snog me. That wouldn't go over well. I'll have to figure out some other thing to be honest about.

I continued walking until I tripped over something.

Or rather someone.

A someone who promptly screamed.

"Ginny?"

I ripped off my invisibility cloak.

"Harry! What in the hell were you doing sneaking up on me like that?"

"I didn't even know you were here. Why are you here? It's after curfew."

She rolled her eyes at me, pointedly looking at my invisibility cloak and most likely alluding to the fact that I am also out after curfew. She opened her mouth to comment but ended up sighing instead.

"I like to come out to the pitch to think sometimes."

"Me too," I replied as I sat down next to her. I put my elbows on my knees and looked over at Ginny. She didn't look like she'd been crying or anything, but I couldn't be sure. It was really dark.

The moments stretched on and Ginny leaned back on her elbows to look at the stars. I followed her lead and did the same, stalling until I could figure out the exact right words.

"So why are you out here thinking then?" Ginny asked without turning her head in my direction.

It was then that I decided there probably weren't any exact right words and I should just say something...anything. Anything slightly more appropriate than what I was currently thinking about how her hair looked in the moonlight.

"I was looking for you."

Ginny raised her eyebrows as if she didn't quite believe me.

"And, er," I continued. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Looking rather perplexed, she turned and leaned toward me.

"Sorry about what?"

"Well, I'm sorry about just leaving you there after Hermione yelled at you. I shouldn't have done that and I shouldn't have let Hermione yell at you in the first place -"

"Harry that wasn't your fault," Ginny interrupted. "I shouldn't have messed with her life in the first place." She shifted to sit with her legs underneath her and ran a hand through her hair. She looked resigned to the fact that somehow everything was her fault, when really it was mine. I wanted to tell her that this mess was my fault and Ron's and that she was only trying to do what was right, even in her act of "revenge". I wanted to tell her how brave she looked sitting there taking credit for this entire mess.

"...I was just too naive," Ginny continued. "I thought that if I pushed them a little bit they would have a romantic happily every after and I was wrong. Sure, it was to get back at Ron, but it was also to help him. And Hermione. I wanted to at least let her have what Ron was always rubbing in my face that I couldn't. I'm not a bitch, you know." Ginny turned to me for agreement and I nodded. "I just thought that they were being so stupid and that I could fix it and that maybe if Ron was happy he'd stop pestering me about talking with you. Maybe I went about it in the wrong way, but I thought a little more happiness would be nice around here."

Ginny looked so passionate and determined as she caught her breath after that speech of hers, that I couldn't help noticing that her arm was touching mine and her jaw was set and her eyes were full of emotion. I know I said that I was going to be her friend and try and do that well, but I couldn't help myself. She looked so damn beautiful that I had to kiss her.

I slid my hand up the back of her neck and pulled her to me, kissing her briefly and pausing before kissing her again. If she wanted me to stop, I'd given her the opportunity stop me. She hadn't. In fact, she started to kiss me back.

Her hands trailed up my arms, leaving nerves trembling in their wake, and one hand ended up around my neck as the other tossed my glasses on the grass. Soon we were both laying on the ground, me on top of her, breathing heavily. I kissed the one lonely freckle on the underside of her jaw and brushed her hair out of her face. She was smiling and I felt like my heart would burst from happiness. This could've been a horrible mistake, but instead it was turning out wonderfully.

"Ginny, I love you."

The words spilled out before I even had a chance to stop them. Ginny's hands on my back stilled.

"What?"

I started to get nervous. This was not the reaction I'd hoped for.

"I love you?"

She laughed. "Do you really now?"

I was indignant. How dare she think this was some sort of joke.

"Of course I love you," I said. "I love everything about you. I always have."

At my last sentence her eyes narrowed and she pushed me off of her.

"What a load of dragon dung," she muttered.

I landed with a thud on the ground and groped around for my glasses with my right hand while keeping my focus on Ginny. I put them on just in time to see Ginny standing over me with her arms folded and a furious expression on her face.

"So this is how Ron decides to get back at me, huh?"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Harry and Ginny finally kissed (or snogged rather). I know that all of you have been waiting for it so I want to hear what you thought. There is one final chapter to this story (and series!). Hopefully you won't have to wait as long for this last one. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and having wonderful comments throughout this series. I really appreciate it.


	7. Things Get Personal

A/N: First off, thanks to all of you that are reading this story and those of you that reviewed the last chapter (Karma11, werecoolparka4, VickiWeasley, fs;alfkjsd;lkf, lonelyzepher83, nihon-no-schoolgirl, thechosenrockchick, Altair1, EJC, Dragon of the lost world, Jessy, kitotterkat, Frecklednproud, pinkpygmypuff, sea-my-eyes, J.Rhaye, jkg-vader, Aracalien, Georgentosser, Marz the green planet, cho-kaoru88, Baby-Atemu). I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out and I feel really awful about it, but life got in the way. I did promise that I was going to finish it, though, and I'm sticking to that. Unfortunately, Harry got himself into such a mess that this is going to take one more chapter than I thought. So this is the second to last chapter (I promise this time!) and it won't take me a year to get out the last one. Two or three weeks, tops. Sorry, sorry, sorry again for making you wait so long. I hate when I have to wait forever for stories and so I feel just awful that I made you wait. I hope you like the chapter and that you'll be kind enough to review. I always love to hear what you think!

* * *

_**Things Get Personal**_

* * *

_Where we left off:_

_"Ginny, I love you." _

_ The words spilled out before I even had a chance to stop them. Ginny's hands on my back stilled. _

_ "What?" _

_ I started to get nervous. This was not the reaction I'd hoped for. _

_ "I love you?" _

_ She laughed. "Do you really now?" I was indignant. How dare she think this is some sort of joke. _

_ "Of course I love you," I said. "I love everything about you. I always have." _

_ At my last sentence her eyes narrowed and she pushed me off of her. _

_ "What a load of dragon dung," she muttered. _

_ I landed with a thud on the ground and groped around for my glasses with my right hand while keeping my focus on Ginny. I put them on just in time to see Ginny standing over me with her arms folded and a furious expression on her face. _

_ "So this is how Ron decides to get back at me, huh?" _

* * *

"Ginny, what are you talking about?"

"This is low, even for him." She started pacing. "Mind, I'm not mad at you Harry, he probably slipped something into your pumpkin juice at dinner."

"Ginny -"

"He probably got one of those wretched love potions from the twins," she mumbled to herself.

She thought that Ron had slipped me something? It was ridiculous. How could she not know that I fancied her? Hadn't I made it painfully obvious?

"Ugh, that bastard!" Ginny angrily drew a hand through her hair. "How could he do that? He knows how I feel -"

"Ginny," I grabbed her shoulders and made her stop pacing, "Listen to me. I really do like you."

"Stop saying that!" She shoved my arms away. "Bloody brother and his sodding revenge."

"Ginny," I started, but she held a hand up to stop me.

"Don't," she said. "I can't handle any more lies and I can't hear anything you have to say right now because I might start to believe that it's true. Ron knew exactly how to get back at me and he managed it well." She gave me a half-hearted smile and put her hand on my shoulder. "You've always been my weak point Harry. I'm just surprised that it took this long for somebody to actually exploit it."

I didn't know what to say, so I just stood there as she slowly slid her hand down my arm and took it away. It hung loosely by her side and I missed the touch of it immediately. I frowned.

"Don't worry Harry," she said with her chin held firm and a look of sad determination in her eyes. "I won't embarrass you, not like I used to. I won't tell anyone we kissed and we can both forget that it ever happened. You can go back to fancying whatever girl you fancy at the moment and I can go back to just being your friend."

"But I fancy you!" I blurted out.

Ginny's eyes started to tear up. An hour ago I would have taken that as a sign that she simply didn't want to hurt my feelings when she rejected me, but I know that she felt everything in that kiss just like I did in that.

"No, you don't, Harry," she said softly, as if she were speaking to a child. "You think you do, but you're just under the affects of an enchantment."

"I'm not," I said as I stepped towards her, "I really love you."

The words had slipped out the first time I'd said them, but I said them the second time because I knew it was true.

"Stop saying that," Ginny yelled as she stomped her foot on the ground. "I know you don't mean it." Her eyes were closed and her head hung down as she shook it back and forth.

I took another step forward and touched my hand to her cheek.

"I'm not under any sort of spell or enchantment or potion. I'm a right prat and apparently a bloody fool for not telling you this sooner, but I really fancy you. I love the way that your eyes light up when you're plotting something and the way you chew on your quill when you're working on an essay and the way your cheeks flush when you fly. I love when you make sarcastic little comments to Ron and Hermione that they don't even notice and the way you glance at me to share a laugh. I -"

"Oh Harry," Ginny sighed as she leaned her face into my hand, eyes still closed. "It would be so easy...to just pretend."

I didn't know what else I could say to convince her and I still didn't know what had set her off on this conclusion in the first place. I felt lost. It was my typical reaction to being confronted with my feelings and Ginny Weasley. If she thought I was under some sort of magical influence I'd let her do any sort of detection spell in order to prove her wrong. I'd take Veritaserum or even touch some of that potion we'd made today in Snape's class. It worked wonders for Hermione.

I rubbed my thumb across Ginny's cheek and her eyelids fluttered.

"Hermione and Ron are snogging," I said.

Ginny opened her eyes and backed away from my hand, looking less than pleased. She crossed her arms.

"At least we know that it's wearing off," she said. "That wasn't the least bit romantic."

Oh, bugger. That wasn't what I meant to say.

"I'm sorry. I meant that..."

What had I meant to say?

"Yes?" Ginny asked a tad impatiently. She tapped her foot.

"Well, Hermione and Ron are snogging," I started again. "So that means Ron doesn't care about revenge at the moment so he couldn't have slipped me a potion?"

I looked at Ginny hopefully, but she shook her head.

"Nice try, but he was still quite angry at me at dinner in case you've forgotten. Plus, I don't believe you."

I suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"What if I showed you to prove it?"

"Show me what, Harry? No offense, but I think I might just want to go back to my dormitory and hope that everything's back to normal in the morning."

"No," I said as I grabbed her hand and started pulling her along with me to the castle. "I'll show you that the plan worked." And then maybe, I hoped, she'd believe me about everything else too.

"Harry," Ginny said as she ran to keep up with me, "I don't want to see my brother and my best friend snogging. And if they aren't, which I believe is more likely, I don't want to be anywhere near my angry brother and furious best friend. So let me go!"

She tried to tug her hand out of my grip, but I wouldn't release her.

We reached the castle and I stopped. It was after hours and we couldn't get caught. I turned to Ginny and held up my invisibility cloak.

"No," she said firmly. "I am not going under that with you. You're clearly insane."

"And apparently you want to get caught," I replied. I swung the cloak over my shoulders and held it open for her. She didn't move.

"Come on, you know you want to," I pleaded.

She didn't look like she wanted to. In fact, she seemed to have decided that she was mad at me after all. We were in a standoff for several moments until Ginny gave a frustrated huff.

"You're infuriating," she said as she took her place under the cloak and pulled it in front of her. "If this is how you act when you think you're in love with someone, I don't know how you're ever going to get a girlfriend. I can't believe that you think taking a girl to watch other people kiss is a good idea. You're daft."

I ignored her rant and reached my arm forward and outside of the cloak to open the door. My arm brushed against Ginny's and I heard her sharp intake of breath before she started rambling on again, angrier than ever. Her sarcastic words were familiar and they calmed me. We slowly and haltingly walked in the direction of the Potions classroom. I had to concentrate in order to avoid stepping on the backs of Ginny's feet and sometimes I had to back up and strain the fabric of the cloak because her body was too close for comfort.

Ginny's hair was itching my face and I was trying to keep from sneezing when she abruptly stopped.

"We're here," she whispered."What now?"

"We go in," I said as I pulled open the door to the classroom. We stayed close under the invisibility cloak as we scooted inside.

"Look over there," I whispered into Ginny's ear as I nodded in the direction of Ron and Hermione over by the sinks in a close embrace. Now that we'd gotten to the Potions classroom I realized that I didn't actually want to be here. I didn't particularly want to see my two best mates kissing, though I suppose it could have been worse. They could have been doing more.

I don't know why I had thought this would be a good idea.

"All right then," I said. "Let's get out of here."

I grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her out of the classroom into the corridor, the invisibility cloak slipping off as we moved. I caught the cloak with my hand before it fell to the ground.

"Well," I said awkwardly. "So that's that."

"I suppose you were right then, weren't you?" Ginny said, looking a bit shell-shocked. "They seem to have gotten together."

"Er, yes. Seems that way."

"I'm glad for that," Ginny said, "but what was the point of bringing me here again?"

I couldn't remember what the point had been.

"Your plan worked?" I finally said. I'd had to make a last minute correction to the plan, but it had worked out eventually.

"It did, didn't it?" Ginny's lips turned up into a soft smile.

"It really was a brilliant plan," I admitted.

"I know, I'm a genius," she joked, looking up at me. "Of course, you weren't too bad either."

"Thanks," I replied, glad that things were starting to get back to normal.

I smiled at Ginny, perhaps a bit too widely because she looked away from me and down at her shoes.

"I think we should probably go back to the tower," she said, still avoiding my eyes. "It must be after curfew by now and we don't want to risk losing any points."

There was something in Ginny's words and the tone of her voice that didn't sound right. She never worried about losing points.

"Ginny?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

She looked back up at me with a grin plastered across her face. It didn't seem to reach her stormy eyes.

"I'm fine. Just grand. Let's head back."

She turned and started to walk down the corridor, her footsteps heavier than usual.

"Is it about seeing Ron and Hermione snogging?" I asked as I trailed behind her. "Because as happy as I am for them, it made me feel a little sick to my stomach too. I don't know why I thought it was a good idea in the first place."

Ginny just huffed and kept walking.

"It's awkward," I tried again, "but I'm sure whatever you're feeling will pass."

I hadn't expected a response, but Ginny spun around with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, it'll pass?" she snapped. "How convenient for you. Well some of us might have human emotions instead of love potions controlling their feelings!"

She glared at me in the dim light of the corridor and I got frustrated. What the hell had I done wrong? I took a step closer to her. She tilted her chin up and crossed her arms in front of her chest. I didn't know if she wanted me to leave or wanted to have it out with me. I couldn't leave.

"Ginny, what's the matter with you?" I finally burst out.

"Oh, of course." Ginny gave a hollow laugh. "It must be that something's the matter with me, you prat. Fine, I'm jealous and I'm frustrated and I'm lonely. What the hell kind of defective love potion did Ron give you anyway?"

"Ron didn't give me a love potion! Stop being so stupid."

"You're not supposed to insult me. You're supposed to be showering me with compliments, trying to kiss me again. Or did you forget we even did that out on the grounds?"

How could I have forgotten? I'd barely thought of anything else, aside from not wanting her to be mad at me.

"I'd never forget that," I said softly.

"Fine way of showing it," she said harshly, her voice quavering a bit at the end.

Now that she'd brought it up, I couldn't think about anything but wanting to kiss her again. I took another step towards her.

"You know I'm not great with emotional stuff," I said. "I've said more today than I probably have in my entire life."

Ginny sighed. She didn't look angry any more. She looked tired.

"I know that Harry, I really do. It's just, I've had this dream before and each time I wake up and realize it wasn't real and that's always harder than if I'd never had the dream in the first place." She frowned. "I'm not explaining this well."

"This isn't a dream," I said. "Is it that unbelievable that I'd fancy you? I didn't think I'd been hiding it that well."

Ginny gave a slight 'hmm.' I didn't know if she was agreeing that I'd made a fool out of myself or if the sound meant something else.

"Say something romantic," Ginny said as she looked up at me.

I froze.

"Romantic?" I sputtered out. Hadn't I covered that back somewhere when I was admitting that I loved her.

"Yes," Ginny said with a sudden grin. "Preferably something in the form of a poem."

"A poem? I don't…just can't make that up on the spot."

I could only think of two poems off the top of my head. One started, "Roses are red, violets are blue" and the other, "His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad." Neither of them did me any good.

"Pity," Ginny said with a slight shake of her head. She turned and started to walk away.

"Why have I got to say a poem anyway?"

"Would've been great blackmail material," Ginny said wistfully to a portrait on her right. The woman in the painting nodded in agreement.

"Ginny!"

She turned around and faced me, questioning.

"What's got you convinced that I must be under a love potion?" I stepped closer as I asked. "Because if this is what it feels like to be under a love potion, I've been under one for several months now."

"You said always," Ginny replied. "You lied when you said always."

I had no idea what she was talking about. When had I said "always" and what did that have to do with anything?

Ginny must've seen the cloud of confusion cover my face because she frowned.

"The only thing that makes sense is that you're under a love potion," Ginny said, "because otherwise you lied. I'm not sure which would be worse for me. I don't like when people lie to me."

I could feel the undercurrent of Tom Riddle in Ginny's last sentence and I hated being compared to him, however subconsciously. Ginny sighed and turned to walk towards the entrance of Gryffindor Tower. I stood stock still for a moment before jogging after Ginny.

"Ginny!"

She kept walking with her head forward.

"Ginny," I said as I caught up with her and touched her shoulder to stop her. I seemed to be chasing after Ginny Weasley a lot recently. The Fat Lady let out a curious, "Hmm" in front of us.

"Harry," she said firmly when she finally turned around to face me. "It's been a really long and stressful day and I want to go to sleep. I'll speak with you in the morning when I know which of the two situations I mentioned before is the one I'm dealing with."

Love potion or liar? I wanted to point out that there was the very plausible explanation that I was neither a liar nor under the effects of a potion, but I don't think Ginny would have listened to me at the moment.

"Just tell me what I did wrong," I pleaded. "Let me fix it."

Ginny gave a slight shake of her head and looked pointedly at the hand that was still resting on her shoulder. She wanted to leave, fine, but I couldn't get to sleep with a mess like this on my hands. Somehow I had wrecked Ginny's night after I'd kissed her. Or maybe when I kissed her. Although she had seemed like she enjoyed it.

If she didn't fancy me I wish she'd just say so.

"Ginny, I'll let you leave and go to sleep if you tell me what I did wrong and promise to talk to me in the morning. Please?"

"Fine," Ginny agreed with a suddenly blazing look in her eyes. "It's about time all of this got over with. You, Harry Potter, said that you loved me. That you _always_ had, which, as we all know, is complete and utter rubbish. Good night."

Ginny strode over to the portrait, gave the password, and marched inside. I stayed right where I was, in shock.

Had I really told Ginny that I'd _always_ loved her? I suppose I had. That's why she'd thought I was a liar. Because she'd seen how I was around girls like Cho and then I told her it had always been her. She knew how I'd treated her when we were younger, as if she was a blushing piece of Weasley wallpaper, and she'd put it all together and I ended up as either out of my mind or the worst kind of cad. I felt sick to my stomach.

The worst part of it was that when I'd said it, it felt true and Ginny said it was a lie. Maybe it wasn't literally spot on, but my heart couldn't remember a time when I wasn't in love with Ginny Weasley.

The problem was, the truth did sound like "a load of dragon dung" as Ginny so eloquently put it. I had no idea where to go from here. Making things right suddenly seemed a lot more difficult and a lot more personal.

* * *

A/N: I look forward to hearing what you thought of it!


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